Chapter 16: The Ghosts Lurking in the Depths
The wind swept through Mystic Falls, carrying with it something strange... an unusual sharpness.
An illogical chill crept through the trees, even though spring had arrived weeks ago.
Those sensitive to magic felt a subtle sting beneath their skin...
Like an itch they couldn't scratch.
Alexander stood at the edge of the forest, his eyes narrowed, silently scanning the horizon.
He hadn't slept since his conversation with Evelyn... Her words still echoed in his mind, as if they had been branded into him.
> "You haven't seen the worst of what they did to you, Alexander…"
He still didn't know what disturbed him more…
That she had said it, or that a part of him—deep down—believed her.
Behind him, Klaus approached with quiet steps, as usual.
"You're still thinking about her?"
Alexander didn't reply.
Klaus spoke in a calm tone, carrying a hint of advice:
"You should rest. Whatever is coming... you'll face it better with a clear mind."
Alexander whispered, his voice heavy like a storm cloud:
"What did she mean, Klaus? You know something."
Klaus exhaled slowly, then said:
"Not exactly. But witches like her don't speak nonsense.
If she said there's a greater darkness coming… she's probably right."
Alexander turned to him suddenly:
"Did your family ever cross paths with mine before the curse was cast on me?"
Klaus raised an eyebrow in surprise:
"No. The Salvatore chaos... was always of your own making."
Alexander smirked bitterly:
"Good to know."
At the Salvatore house, Stefan paced back and forth, visibly tense.
Damon sat sharpening a knife with a sort of detached boredom, as if the wait had worn him out more than the worry.
On the couch, Caroline sat beside Bonnie, both re-reading spells again.
Damon muttered, running his finger along the blade's edge:
"I hate waiting."
Stefan stopped pacing and said cautiously:
"There's something deeper going on. I can feel it. Evelyn didn't come for revenge... what she said was a warning."
Bonnie looked up from the paper:
"You're right. I was reviewing the original spell that cursed Alexander. The one Giuseppe and Katherine helped cast."
She pulled out a paper from the stack:
"There's a part I hadn't noticed before...
The spell didn't just trap Alexander's soul—it tied it to something else."
Caroline leaned in, her face tense:
"To what?"
Bonnie's hands trembled slightly as she held the page:
"To someone."
Stefan's expression froze, and his voice became more serious:
"You mean someone is carrying part of his soul?"
Bonnie nodded slowly:
"More than that. The person they used as an anchor during the casting of the curse—the one who was linked to Alexander—might still be alive.
And if that's true…"
Damon finished the sentence, his voice laced with dark sarcasm:
"Then he's dangerous... a shadow of Alexander."
At that moment, Alexander and Klaus walked through the door.
Alexander spoke in a heavy tone:
"Looks like we're facing a bigger problem."
Bonnie stood up:
"We were just discussing it."
Alexander looked directly at her:
"Tell me what you discovered."
Bonnie explained everything she had found: the anchor, the living body, the mysterious link.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Then Alexander said slowly:
"I had a dream last night. A man with red eyes, standing in the middle of fire... he called my name, as if he had been waiting for me."
Klaus spoke calmly:
"That wasn't a dream... it was a thread.
Someone is trying to reach you through the veil."
Stefan murmured, certainty in his voice:
"That means this isn't over… not even close."
Damon stood up and tossed the knife onto the table carelessly:
"So what's the plan? We find this mysterious anchor and destroy him?"
Bonnie shook her head firmly:
"Not destroy. We need to find him first. If the link is broken the wrong way... Alexander could be torn apart again."
Silence followed for a moment.
Then Klaus said with a hint of dry sarcasm:
"Looks like the party's over."
Alexander stepped toward the window, gazing out at the town through the glass.
His voice was barely a whisper, but it carried unmistakable resolve:
> "If someone carries my shadow in this world... it's time I face him."
---
The night was quiet… too quiet.
That kind of silence that comes before disaster.
Klaus Mikaelson stood on the edge of the Salvatore house balcony, phone pressed to his ear, his body rigid like it had been carved from stone.
His jaw tightened with every word from the voice on the other end.
When the call ended, he said nothing.
He simply crushed the phone in his hand, its pieces scattering across the wooden floor.
"What the hell was that?" Damon asked as he got up.
Klaus growled, his eyes sparking with fury:
"They got them… Elijah and Rebekah. Taken."
Stefan stepped forward:
"By who?"
Klaus's features darkened further:
"He didn't say. But he knew how to reach me. Knew we'd all be here. Said he'd kill them if I didn't come alone."
Damon shook his head mockingly:
"Classic trap."
Klaus shouted:
"I don't care! If anyone dares to harm my siblings—not even a hair—"
He turned suddenly, ready to rush into the night.
But before he could take a step, Alexander appeared before him, standing firmly in his path.
"You're not going alone," he said, his voice low but sharp as a blade.
Klaus tried to push past him:
"This isn't your fight."
But Alexander didn't budge.
"Yes, it is. Rebekah and Elijah helped me. So did you. That makes it my fight too."
Klaus narrowed his eyes, his voice colder:
"I don't need backup."
Alexander replied with confidence:
"I'm not backup. I owe them."
Silence stretched between the two, eyes watching them, the air charged with tension.
Then Klaus gave a slight nod:
"Fine. But if you get in my way, I'll throw you to them first."
Alexander smirked:
"Try me."
---
They set off within the hour, lightning-fast, magic carrying them through the night.
Klaus had traced the call, and with Bonnie's help, the location was pinpointed: an abandoned mansion two hours from Mystic Falls, deep in a dense forest, off any map of time.
As they ran, the trees faded into blurry shadows.
"You think it's the anchor?" Alexander asked, running beside Klaus.
Klaus's jaw clenched tighter:
"Maybe. Or something worse."
They arrived at the mansion before dawn.
It stood tall like a corpse from a past century—broken windows, torn curtains, creeping vines like dead veins wrapped around it.
The front door was ajar.
Klaus entered first, footsteps silent, caution leading the way.
Alexander followed, eyes scanning every corner, every shadow.
The smell of blood... hit Alexander immediately.
Rebekah's bracelet lay on the floor, stained with deep red blood.
Alexander knelt, touching it with his fingers:
"The blood's fresh."
Klaus growled, his voice beastlike:
"They're here."
Suddenly, the air shifted.
A soft, cold voice emerged from the shadows:
"You were quicker than I expected, Niklaus."
Klaus and Alexander turned at once.
A man stepped out of the darkness, appearing in his early thirties.
White shirt stained at the sleeves, hair slicked back, and eyes... like shattered glass, filled with boundless rage.
Klaus spoke, disgust in his voice:
"I take it you made the call."
"I did," the man replied with a faint smile. "Name's Malachai. But my friends call me Kai."
Alexander narrowed his eyes:
"A magical hybrid... I thought your coven locked you in a prison world. Or so the rumors go."
Kai smiled slyly:
"You know me? I'm honored. You're right, they did. But when you have the right friends—well, let's just say I have the right friends."
"What do you want?" Klaus asked, voice tinged with impatience.
Kai smiled wider:
"I wanted to talk. But then I realized talking is boring... so—"
He raised his hand. A massive magical wave erupted.
Klaus was thrown across the room, crashing into the wall.
Alexander lunged forward, grabbing Kai's arm before he could cast another spell.
They clashed violently—blows, raw magic, force.
But Kai was cunning. He vanished in a blink, reappeared behind Alexander, and whispered a dark spell.
Blood burst from Alexander's chest, and he staggered back.
Kai mocked:
"Still breathing? I was hoping for more."
Alexander's eyes blazed with fury:
"You want more?"
He lunged, throwing Kai through a wooden door.
They crashed into the hallway, blood staining the walls.
At the other end, Klaus rose with a growl and charged toward the noise.
He entered the corridor just as Alexander had slammed Kai against the wall.
"I'll rip your heart out with my hands," Alexander whispered.
Kai laughed, his grin twisted with mockery:
"You're too late... anyway."
A scream echoed down the corridor.
Elijah's scream.
Klaus's eyes widened, and he shot forward like a bullet.
He reached the room at the end—what he saw stopped him cold.
Rebekah and Elijah, bound to opposite walls, bodies bruised and bloodied… but alive.
A clock on the wall ticked rhythmically.
Beside it, carved into the wood, one word:
"Offering."
Kai appeared again in the doorway behind Klaus and Alexander, smiling.
He said:
"I told you, this isn't just about you two.
It's about legacy, betrayal… and blood."
Then he vanished.
Alexander said firmly:
"Free them."
Klaus ran to Rebekah, and Alexander moved to Elijah.
As they freed them, Klaus looked to Alexander and said quietly:
"This isn't over."
Alexander nodded, blood dripping from his fist.
"No. This is just the beginning."
---